The smallest of all Nautican creatures (nicknamed "Crester Sprats" by other Nautican units), these somewhat skittish, nervous, sea dwellers closely resemble their land based cousins, the skinks, with which they share similar traits. Unlike the skinks however, they are not comfortable adopting a skirmish formation and work as close knit units on the battlefield.Crest Riders are small and light enough to be propelled across the battlefield by magic waves prepared before battles by the magical elite of the Nauticans.
Points/model: 6 pts
| M | Ws | Bs | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | |
| Crest Rider | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Triple Fin | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
Unit Size: 10-25
Equipment: Spears*, javelins
* +1 str during a Breaking Wave Charge
Special Rules:
Seaborn, Wave Magic use bound, Breaker Wave Charge, Anarchic, "Small Fry"
Options: upgrade a Crest Rider to a triple fin +6pts
Wave Magic Bound
The Cresters are magically bound to a nautican spellcaster before the battle. The most powerful Siren or Mermaid has embued the unit with the power to summon a magical wave.
A Nautican army can only include Crest Rider units if the army has at least one spellcaster (a Siren and/or a Mermaid).
Breaking Wave Charge
Once per battle the unit can move 20 inches on the crest of a wave. The wave can be used to charge the enemy (in exactly the same way as a unit which can fly**).
** The wave can pass over friendly Nautican units but not enemy units.
The wave crashes down upon the enemy and causes impact hits relative to the Crester's number of ranks (of 5 or more models***):-
1 rank = d6 str 1
2 ranks = d6 str 2
3 ranks = d6 str 3
4+ ranks = d6 str 4
*** Cresters with a frontage of fewer than 5 models do not have the collective concentrated energy to summon a wave capable of moving them across the battlefield.
While charging into combat on the crest of a wave the riders benefit from soft cover from the waves surrounding them. This means that any eneny unit adopting a stand and shoot charge reaction suffers a further -1 to hit.
Anarchic
"Crester Sprats" have little to rebel against. They are drawn into service by the Nauticans for specialist purposes for which they are richly rewarded in the form of Nauitcan protection from the creatures of the deep.
"Crester Sprats" however remain extremely protective of their self governance and will not suffer the internal leadership of anybody but a "Sprat". Their internal disorganised state is in any case a mystery to the Nauitcan people.
Units of Crest Riders cannot be joined by a character.
"Small Fry"
Other Nauticans look down on Crest Riders (literally), they are seen as being dispensable and almost inconsequential. Nauticans expect Crest Riders to be easily wiped out or flee from combat.
Other "non-Sprat" Nautican units never suffer panic as a result of the poor performance of "Sprats" on the battlefield. This includes a "Sprat" unit being destroyed, breaking from combat or a "Sprats" unit fleeing through a friendly Nautican unit.
Safety in Numbers
Sprats are nervous sea creatures and prefer the protection offered by fighting in large numbers. Small units of sprats will often search out other units and form up into larger groups.
Crest Rider units can join other Crest Rider units in their movement phase providing this does not increase the combined unit size beyond their allowed maximum of 25 models.
During the movement phase a sprat unit may join another sprat unit by moving (or march moving if possible) into contact with the target sprat unit*. The target unit cannot move during the maneuver (it's too busy making space in it's ranks for it's new friends). Neither unit can use their spearguns for that turn** but may operate normally from the beginning of their following turn.
The final combined unit adopts the same file formation (eg. 5 models wide) of the target unit. The newly arrived sprats are placed in the rear ranks of the target unit.
* in precisely the same way that one units charges another.
** including stand and shoot charge reactions.
If one of the Crest Rider units has not yet used it's Wave Breaker Charge then the combined unit may use the magical wave charge. If neither unit has used their Wave Breaker Charge only one Wave Breaker Charge can be used by the combined unit.***
*** the wave magics that power the Wave Breaker charges have merged into one.
